As in the previous blog texts on the topic “Patenting Culture of Twenty Years in Europe”, we examined in detail the Baltic region (Lithuania, Latvia and Estonia), the Scandinavian countries (Sweden, Finland and Norway) and the central part of Europe (Germany), now we would like to go beyond Europe and examine the patenting situation in other markets of the world and to compare them to the countries we have already analysed.

Year

Lithuania

Sweden

Finland

Norway

1996

32.31

438.21

405.20

263.48

1997

40.39

440.35

438.66

257.35

1998

43.30

423.29

459.11

247.14

1999

27.79

441.41

466.54

273.69

2000

21.32

449.94

479.55

267.57

2001

21.97

419.02

444.24

243.06

2002

27.46

358.25

401.49

241.01

2003

20.68

323.06

366.17

220.59

2004

22.62

295.34

373.61

232.84

2005

21.97

268.69

340.15

232.84

2006

21.00

261.22

338.29

228.76

2007

20.03

269.75

334.57

251.23

2008

28.11

271.88

334.57

234.89

2009

29.40

233.50

336.43

255.31

2010

34.89

234.57

321.56

228.76

2011

30.05

213.24

306.69

228.76

2012

35.22

244.16

315.99

206.29

2013

37.80

248.43

297.40

224.67

2014

39.74

211.11

263.94

226.72

Table 1. Patenting intensity in Lithuania, Sweden, Finland and Norway

Therefore, in this blog text we will try to overview patenting tendencies in the United States of America because the market there is particularly big: it is namely the USA that still has the biggest impact on the global economy.

Speaking about the population in the USA, we can see it gradually increasing: in 2006 the population of the United States of America was approx. 298 million, whereas in 2015 – already approx. 322 million (on the average: approx. 310 million).

In overview of the patenting intensity, we have noticed that in 1996 the patenting intensity coefficient in the USA was 344: it was lower than in Germany (518), Sweden (438) and Finland (405) at that time; but it was higher than in Norway (263) and in any country of the Baltic region (Lithuania – 32, Latvia – 93, Estonia – 9). However, the statistics for 2014 are completely different: the patenting intensity coefficient was 918: it was higher than in all the other analysed countries (Lithuania – 39, Latvia – 48, Estonia – 33, Sweden – 211, Finland – 263, Norway – 226). The patenting intensity in the USA was growing gradually: probably the US policy and promotion of innovations during the past 20 years were very intense and regular.

Now, let’s overview the patenting situation in another major country of the world, i.e. in Russia.

If we analyse the population in Russia, we can see that during the past 10 years the situation almost has not changed: in 2006 the population in Russia was 143.2 million and in 2015 – 146.3 million.

If we analyse patenting of inventions, we can see it gradually increasing: the patenting coefficient in 1996 was 125 and in 2014 it increased to 167. But if we compare it to the largest European country – Germany (518–591) or the USA (344–918), it is still rather small. Taking into account that the population in Russia (143 million) is smaller only about 50% than in the USA (310 million), it can be presumed that theoretically this country has a great potential in the future.

Let’s analyse a very controversial country (according to various economic indicators) – China. The situation is different in each region in China. In this blog text we will overview the general patenting situation and tendencies in the country, but you should know that in certain aspects the general patenting situation may be absolutely different from the actual patenting tendencies in different regions.

As you know, the population of China is very big (in 1996 the registered population was a whopping 1,314.48 billion) and, despite strict measures taken by the Chinese government, the number of people continues to grow (in 2015 the registered population was 1,374.62 billion).
Changes in the patenting intensity in China during the past 20 years are rather vivid:

In 1996 the patenting intensity coefficient in China was only 8.65. It was lower than in any other country analysed by us before.

In 2000 this coefficient already increased up to 18.85 and in 2005 – up to 69.54.

In 2010 patenting in China (217.99) reached the average patenting level in Europe. However, that is not all: in 2011 patenting in China skyrocketed, as this number jumped up to a whopping 309.31 in just one year.

It 2014 it increased up to 595.92 (it was 591.16 in Germany in the same year). Having in mind that the western part of China is not yet that active in terms of patenting and that the population in China is about 4 times bigger than in the USA, we can state that in the near future, intensity of patenting in China will grow considerably, unless the political situation changes.

Let’s examine the development of patenting in one more oriental country – Japan. In the global laser industry Japan is considered to be the leader in laser technologies.

The population in Japan has almost not changed during the past 10 years and remains on the average 127.48 million. Meanwhile, according to the patenting intensity, Japan surpassed all the other countries analysed by us so much (in 1996 the intensity coefficient in Japan was 2,659 and in 2014 it was 2,086) that one should only follow its example.

With this blog text we finish the topic “Patenting Culture of Twenty Years in Europe”. If you are interested in patenting situation in another country, please contact us and we will certainly analyse it and present our results and conclusions.